The vision of the Church Health Department is rooted in the belief that a healthy Pastor leads to a healthy church. While attention often centers on the church itself, the well-being of the pastor is just as crucial. For a Pastor to be healthy, he or she must be healthy spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally. This involves prayer, studying the Word, maintaining a regular exercise routine, releasing past hurts, and engaging in personal growth through books, podcasts, conferences, and other resources.For pastors, we offer the Minister’s Renewal—a refreshing and revitalizing experience for you and your spouse. This uplifting and inspiring event, hosted by the Network in October, is designed to encourage and challenge you in your ministry journey. Scholarships are available to help make attendance possible. Additionally, we provide valuable resources to support the growth and development of every pastor in our Network. For those feeling stuck or in need of guidance, coaching is also available to help you move forward with clarity and purpose in your ministry.For the church, we encourage every congregation to focus on two key priorities. First, prioritize outreach. It’s vital to extend beyond our church doors to connect with new people and invite them to our church. To support this effort, we offer outreach scholarships for churches that may face financial constraints. If your congregation needs assistance to host an outreach event, we’ve made the process simple. Just complete the form available under the Outreach tab that will help plan a powerful event.The second helpful resource for every church is the Church Health Workshop. Over the span of a year, you and your leadership team will participate in four cohorts. During this time, you will assess the current state of your church, define your mission, develop a unique vision, establish core values, plan outreach initiatives, and create a strategic three-year plan, complete with a launch date.The Church Health Department is dedicated to supporting and encouraging every Pastor as we work together to make a lasting impact for the Kingdom of God.
What Is Church Health?
Outreaches
Matthew 28:19 says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” This command to “go” calls us to engage in outreach, emphasizing our responsibility to make disciples within our local communities. As a church, we are called to be outwardly focused.
With over 40 years of ministry experience, Mary Ann & I have had the opportunity to serve in various capacities from Youth Pastor to Associate to Lead Pastor to Presbyter to now Church Health Director. We love the local church.
After I graduated from Central Bible College and Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and Mary Ann from Evangel, we served as youth and associate pastors in Springfield and Waupaca, Wisconsin. We assumed our first lead pastorate in Shawano, Wisconsin at the ages of 23 and 25. We followed a well-loved pastor in his seventies who was retiring and jumped in to lead the church of 50 where the median age was 55, with one child in the nursery. Over the 8 ½ years, Shawano Assembly of God proved to be a wonderful congregation that allowed us to grow personally and fostered a healthy environment that led the church to become the largest evangelical church in the county.
We then received a call to pastor Blue Springs Assembly. It was a struggling dysfunctional congregation of 60 in 1997. We saw God turn this church around to become a healthy thriving congregation in Kansas City. We guided the church through several seasons of growth, purchasing 24 acres and building a new campus in 2008. Today, BSA is a generous, mission-minded church reaching its community for the Lord.
We feel like God has prepared us our whole life for this moment to help pastors and churches in this area of Church Health. We are available to preach, teach, train, coach or just have a cup of coffee. We want to be your friend and encourage you in the ministry. We are here to help in any way.
John & Mary Ann Martz